


Love Me As I Am Or Not At All

by inky_dreams



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Deathstroke the Terminator (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Catherine Todd - Freeform, Deathstroke - Freeform, Female Jason Todd, Friends to Lovers, Jason Todd is Robin, Jason Todd-centric, Mentioned Willis Todd, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Slade Wilson, Slow Burn, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29914134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inky_dreams/pseuds/inky_dreams
Summary: I'll always be who I am.Is it still love if I have to hide parts of myself for you to accept me?Or is it love when you accept me for who I am, flaws and all?As harsh as it sounds, sometimes the only way we learn is through trial and error.*Title is a quote by Maddy Kodar
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Grant Wilson, Jason Todd & Slade Wilson, Jason Todd/Grant Wilson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Medea about 8 years old and Grant is about 10-11 years old at the beginning of this chapter.

“Cathy, you bitch!”

“What? So, it’s my fault now?”

“Of course it is, it certainly isn’t mine. Did you even think about Medea?”

“Oh? You care about her now? Finally stepping up to the plate as a father?”

Medea sighed, her parents were at it again. The moment dad returned from work, she had rushed over to show him the new hairstyle that mom had put her hair in. He had been attentive at first, but his expression had soured the moment he noticed the needles on the coffee table. He ordered her to her room and to not come out until they were done. 

So here she was, stuck in her room and staring out the bedroom window. There wasn’t much she could do, since she had already finished her homework. 

She watched as a boy ran past her building, he seemed to be in a rush. Having nothing to do, she observed him running back by her building again. He stopped to look around before ducking into the alleyway between her building and the one next to it.

_Huh, must be one of the street kids. Maybe he got caught up in another gang’s turf._

The boy finally looked up and saw her leaning out her window. He shot her a pleading look and put a finger to his mouth. She nodded. Knowing she couldn’t do much to help, she went back into her room. She would give him away if she stayed by the window.

She had been a quarter way through her book when her parents finally stopped. She heard the door slam, dad had likely left. He wouldn’t be back home until the early hours of tomorrow. Moments later, her mom opened the door to her room.

“Medea? 

“Mom? I-is ... dad...are you okay?”

“I’m fine, darling.” Catherine came by the bed and wrapped her in a hug. “Your dad and I… we just have some disagreements.”

“...”

Her mom must have sensed her skeptical emotions, “We’ve just hit a rough patch, baby. Things will get better. And no matter what, always remember that we love you, darling.”

Medea stayed silent, choosing to simply hug her mom harder. “I...I love you too mom.”

They stayed like that for a bit until her mom pulled away. 

“It’s getting late, don’t stay up too late reading, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Well good night, darling. I’m a little tired, I think I will head to bed a little early.” 

With that Catherine kisses her forehead and leaves her room. She hears her shuffling around before her mom closes the door to the master bedroom.

She’s not as naive as her parents believe her to be; her mom is tired, but she isn’t heading to bed. Rather she is seeking her escape through drugs.

Looks like she doesn’t have much to do. Sighing, she shuffles to turn the light off and head to bed. Out of curiosity, she takes a peek outside. The boy is just about to leave, he looks up to see her. Grinning, he waves at her and takes off in the direction he originally came in. 

_Well at least, someone had a good day._

* * *

She doesn’t plan on seeing the boy again. They haven't even said a word to each other. However, things don’t go as planned. The next time they meet, she’s sprawled in the dirt and he’s offering her a hand up.

“Thanks”, she mumbles.

“Are you alright?” asks the boy. “You know, if that kid hadn’t run off so quickly, I’d probably returned the favour to him. What happened?”

“I’m fine.” Medea brushes the dirt off her clothes. “Just the usual, Alex is a jealous prick.”

_That was a lie. Alex had called her a junkie just like her mom, his constant jibes at her family life had annoyed her. He had even gotten his friends to join in. She reached her limit and punched him. He had, of course, retaliated._

The boy frowns at her answer. “Well... here’s a tissue. I think your lip is bleeding.”

 _Oh._ Grateful for the tissue, she grabs it and holds it onto her lip. “Thanks.”

“It’s the least I can do. By the way, I never got to thank you for last time.”

 _Huh? Oh, he meant not exposing his hiding spot._ “That was nothing.”

This is when Medea realizes how much time has passed, between fighting Alex and talking to the boy, quite a bit of time has passed. “Ah, I should go. My parents will be worried. But thanks for the tissue.”

The boy seems to hesitate, wanting to say more but he waves goodbye to her. 

* * *

And it seems that this isn’t the last of her encounters with him. The universe must really want them to meet. Regardless of where she goes, she still bumps into the boy. At the most they’ll wave at each other and go on with their day, with the rare occasions where they exchange words with each other.

This time they are back in the same alley. Medea's just trying to sneak back into her room. She had left through the fire escape when another argument had started between her parents. 

“You’re not from here, are you?” asks Medea, startling the boy.

“What?” the boy spins around seeing her by the fire escape. 

“No local would hang around here, unless they are in a gang. And you don’t look the part either.”

The boy sputters, “You’re one to talk, what are you doing here?”

“I live here.” Medea tilts her head slightly to gesture to the building behind her. “Are you getting chased again?”

“No.”

Medea gives him a doubtful look.

“Ok...maybe.”

“Come on then.” Medea motions to him to come toward the fire escape. 

“Where are we going?”

She tugs the fire escape down. “I’m going home. You can take the fire escape up to the roof if you want to, there’s another set of stairs that lead to the other side of the building. Are you coming?”

“A-ah yes, wait up.”

“Pull the escape back up once you're up.”

Just as he finishes pulling the escape back up, he hears sounds of a group of people approaching. The two of them exchange looks of urgency.

“Crap. Come on, get in!” Medea waves at him urgently from her window.

He slides into the window and closes it just as the gang enters the alley. 

_That was close. Too close._

“There’s no chance they will leave anytime soon, will they?” he jokes. 

“Mmm… I don’t think so.” Medea takes a small peek outside, “They look pretty angry. What did you do anyways?”

“Err… it’s complicated. I may have pissed off the wrong person. ”

“Hmm…”

They both freeze when they hear a loud knock on her door. “Quick, hide under the bed.” Medea shoves him in that direction. He slips under the bed just as the door opens.

“Dad?”

“I thought I heard something. Is everything alright?”

“Ah yes, I was closing the window. It was stuck, I guess I might have slammed it too loudly.”

“I see… your mom-” Willis hesitated slightly, “Cathy’s a little tired, so don’t make too much noise.”

“...okay.” _Medea could read between the lines, her dad didn’t want her to know that mom was using again._

“Don’t wait up for me, I’ve got a night shift. But don’t worry, I’ll still bring you out to the circus tomorrow.”

“Alright...good night, dad.”

“You can come out now” calls out Medea once she hears their front door close. “He’s gone now.”

“I-a thanks again. This is the second time you’ve helped me out.” the boy crawls back out, “I feel like I owe you at this point.”

“You could always tell me your name, I can’t keep calling you ‘the boy’ in my head.”

He laughs at that, “Sure. It’s Grant. Can I know the name of my saviour?”

“It’s Medea.” She snorts at the mention of saviour. “Nice to meet you, Grant.”

“Likewise.”

Grant takes in her room “I see that you’re also a fan of Star Wars. What did you think of the movie?”

Medea perks up in interest, “Oh, where should I start?”

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More moments between Grant and Medea.  
> Grant also gets to know who his hero is behind the mask.

While they had waited for the gang to leave, the two had bonded over their shared interests in the comics and other hobbies. He had also remembered the previous incident too and had given her tips on how to throw a mean left hook.

After that encounter, the older boy often reappeared to find her. It turned out Grant was only in town for a while, as his father had come to Gotham for business. Since his father’s visits were sporadic and hard to map out, Grant was usually the one to seek her to hang out. 

Besides giving her fighting advice, Grant had taught her how to skateboard. In turn, she had shown him the best places to go in Gotham and the places to avoid.

During his visits, they often hung out during the daytime. Though he sometimes showed up some nights. On those nights, he would knock on her window and they would chat on her fire escape. Their topics ranged from small talk, their hopes for their future to little bits of their personal life. 

* * *

“Psst. Are you awake?”

Moving the curtain reveals Grant on her fire escape. “Now I am.”

Grant winces at that.

“I thought we were meeting later today. So why are you on my fire escape at-” she turns to squint at the alarm clock on her bedside table, “seven in the morning?”

“Can’t a guy just drop by to visit his friend?” 

“You’re being chased again, aren’t you?”

There’s a large shout somewhere outside her building, causing Grant to shift around uncomfortably. “Actually, do you mind letting me in first?”

She sighs, “Come on in.” as she moves away from the window to let him in.

“Thanks! You’re the best,” says Grant, sliding in and closing the window after himself.

“Did something happen?” By all accounts, it isn't too early in the morning for her, but she’s still got a fever and all she wants to do is sleep.

“Oh, I wanted to check in with you. Since you didn’t show up yesterday.”

“Yesterday? I thought we were meeting on Wednesday?”

“...Today's Thursday.”

“Ohh…Oh!” It takes a moment for the realization to hit her. “Ah I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to forget. I’ve been stuck at home for the past three days, I haven’t been allowed to go out cause I had a fever.” 

The last time they had met up, she had forgotten to bring an umbrella. Grant had been late and she had been soaked in the rain waiting for him. Now here she was, paying the price of her actions. 

“It’s fine. Just wanted to make sure you were fine. Oh, and to give you this.” With that, Grant pulls out a large, wrapped, rectangular shaped object from behind him. She’s not sure where he had hidden it before, since the object was rather large.

“Huh?”

“For your birthday. Duh," Grant rolls his eyes, "Wow, that fever took a lot out of you, didn’t it?”

“You have great bedside manners,” deadpans Medea.

“Oops,” says Grant in a nonchalant tone. He passes the package to her. “Well, will you open it or not?”

She unwraps it and blinks in surprise, “Wow, I- thank you. This is a lot.”

In her hands is a beautifully decorated book. On the cover it reads ‘Timeless Tales of God and Heroes’. As she turns it around to see a bookmark sticking out of it.

Grant notices her confusion, “Oh, there’s a mention of your name in there. I thought you might be interested in reading about her. She’s…interesting." He looks hesitant at his own choice of words, then he adds, "Though you’re loads better than her, of course.”

She laughs, “It’s alright. I know a bit about her. You don’t have to worry that I am going to be offended by that. Besides, it's just a story.”

He looks relieved at that before taking the book from her, showing her the other parts that he had found interesting.

* * *

Throughout the years, they also learned bits of each other’s home life. Grant’s parents were divorced, his relationship with them was strained at best though he was close to his younger brother, and how he looked up to Deathstroke. 

In turn, Grant learns about Medea’s home life. How her mom was turning to drugs more frequently, how her dad was in and out of jail and how their relationship was worsening with time. Even being there for her when her dad was sentenced to jail with no hope of getting out anytime soon. 

They became each other’s balance; when one tipped over, the other would bring them back.

* * *

During one of Grant’s visits to Gotham, they had decided to make the most of it. It was getting closer till Grant had to leave Gotham. In the fall, he would be going to military school in New York and he wouldn’t have the chance to come to visit for a while. So they had decided to go to the nearby arcade, having mapped out the most efficient way to win the best prizes. 

Grant was especially good at the sharpshooter games and was thrilled when Medea had shown the same talent in those games. They had made it a competition between them, seeing who could score the most points. Once they had exchanged their tickets for their prizes, a group of boys from school had walked in. They were extremely rowdy.

Upon noticing Medea, her _favourite_ classmate, Alex, had decided to air his comments about how felt about certain people. Since he was very vocal about them, it wasn't hard to guess who he was referring to. 

_What a bothersome person, couldn't he get new material? It stopped being insulting after the third time he said it._

Well, she called it a bother. Grant called it harassment.

Medea had ignored them, nudging Grant to follow. 

This is where things started taking a turn for the worse. 

Unfortunately, Grant recognized one of them, and the boy, Danny, recognized him too. Danny was the older brother of one of her classmates. He was also a part of the gang that Grant had caused trouble with. 

Well, there must have been tension left over. Cause here they were, running away from the group chasing them. 

"What did you even do to them, Grant? They look pissed." Huffs Medea as she runs to catch up to Grant.

"Hell if I know." Grant tugs her along. "We could have beat them, you know."

"Two against nine, I'll pass on the odds. As great of a fighter, as you are, we are still heavily outnumbered."

* * *

They had ducked into a random alleyway, watching the group run past their hiding spot. Having decided to stay cautious, they had taken the long way back by taking lesser-known routes. 

Which was their undoing. Now they were stuck, having walked into a war zone. Hearing the gunfire only getting louder, they had hidden in the nearest abandoned building. They had ended up on the second floor of the building and found an empty room, where the only piece of furniture there was a broken metal chair. 

The higher floor had given them a height advantage, one they used to keep an eye out on the outside situation. Outside, was a mercenary efficiently taking down a gang. The gang’s desperation was clear, they had pulled out heavy weaponry and sending groups of men against the mercenary. But it was no use, the mercenary was demolishing them with ease using his sword. 

"That's Deathstroke," murmured Grant in a somewhat awed tone. 

"Grant...save the admiration for later. What if he spots us? He just walked into the same building we are in."

"You just don't get it, Medea." Grant is too distracted in his admiration to pay attention to her comment.

"Come on, this fight isn't even that impressive. Him fighting Batman last week was better."

"Ok, that’s fair," concedes Grant.

In their discussion they miss a man entering the second floor. He must have heard voices as he soon appeared in the same area they were in. 

"Hey, what are you brats doing here?" demands the man, waving a gun around. 

He makes a move towards them but before he gets a chance to do so, a gunshot rings out. 

Medea and Grant watch on in shock as the man topples to the ground. They had seen the bullet pass through the man's head. Following the direction of the gunshot, they realize that there was still another person in the room.

At the doorway is Deathstroke, staring at them. Since his face was covered, they had no idea what he was thinking. 

_Oh god. Was he here to finish off any loose ends? They really should have run when they had the chance._

Deathstroke holds their stare a little longer before speaking, "Go."

With that command, the two rush out. Worried that he would change his mind if they hesitated any longer. They ran out of the building and didn’t dare to stop until they were on the rooftop of Medea’s building. 

“Let's agree to never do that again.”

“Agreed,” says Medea.

* * *

However, the universe disagrees with their decision. 

A week later, Medea was in the shadows of the alley. Waiting for Grant at one of their usual spots. He was running late. Again. Just as she was about to leave, an unmasked Deathstroke and Grant entered the alley ...arguing? Grant barely took note of her presence.

“This isn’t the time or place to discuss this, boy. You know it. The Bat could very well come by. What are you doing here?” questions Deathstroke.

“Does it even matter? It’s not like you would care.” Grant shoots back.

_They knew each other. But it seem like she was intruding on something private._ As she tried to turn back, she accidentally stepped on a broken beer bottle. 

The crunch of glass had stopped the two in their debate, with Deathstroke being the first to react. 

“Come out if you know what’s good for you.” he threatens. 

She obeys and steps out of the shadows. There was no way she could outrun or hide from him in time. 

“Who sent you?” asks the man.

_Huh, he was older than what she'd imagined Deathstroke would look under the mask._

The lighting in the alley was dim, but she could make the silvery white hair on the man's head and the outline of an eyepatch.

“Medea? What are you doing here?” asks Grant in a surprised tone, moving to stand beside her. “Don’t shoot her. She’s my friend, I told her to meet me here.”

“Let the girl answer for herself.”

“I live here,” gesturing to the building behind her. 

_No point in lying to him. If Deathstroke wanted to find her, it wouldn’t be hard._

She adds, “And I’ve been here waiting for him to show up.”

"Yeah...sorry about that. I didn't realize that he was going to follow me," finishes Grant in a sheepish tone.

At that Deathstroke turns his attention back to Grant. “You’ve been sneaking out to meet a friend? Of all the areas to meet up in, you had to choose the worst, didn’t you?"

“And it matters how? It’s not like you’ve cared much about what I do while we are on these trips, _Pops_.” retorts Grant.

_Wait, Pops? Grant… his hero is his dad?_

“You make it hard to do so when you disappear every time I look away.”

The two had quickly re-entered their debate with Deathstroke making valid points. Crime Alley isn’t particularly safe, well it isn’t ever safe. They only ever re-acknowledged her presence when she interjected at one of their statements. 

“That’s wrong. Everyone knows that the operation by the docks is just a cover.” blurts out Medea.

The two of them look at her in surprise, both having forgotten that she was still there.

“Oh? And where would the location be then?” asks the man curiously. 

Grant had to nudge her back to reality, reminding her that Deathstroke was waiting for an answer. “... the warehouse by the theatre.” 

“Hmm...” the man muses, “interesting. And I suppose you know the consequences for lying?”

“There’s no loss for me if you don’t believe me,” she answers. Jutting her chin out, trying to hide her fear.

“You’ve got guts, kid.” He looks back to Grant, “Don’t think you’re off the hook, we’ll be continuing this later. I’d say go home, but we both know you won’t until later. Stay out of trouble, don’t go near the West End tonight.”

With that Deathstroke leaves the alley, leaving the two alone. 

Medea starts, “So…” _She’s not quite sure what to say to break the silence._

“Yeah...sorry about that. Didn’t mean to get you caught in it,” mumbles Grant, looking down at his feet.

“It’s fine.”

“I understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore.” rambles Grant, “wait, what? You’re okay with this?”

“Grant, you were the one to tell me that kids weren’t defined by what their parents did, you think I’m really going to hold it against you?”

Grant snorts, “Of course, you would use my words against me.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” protests Medea. 

He playfully nudges her, “You know what I mean.”

With that, they decide to drop the topic and turn to light-hearted ones. Wanting to make the most of his last visit.

Before he leaves, he makes her promise to keep in touch via email. This way, they wouldn’t be completely cut off from each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Medea's namesake (the one in Greek myths) is a princess, and a powerful sorceress/enchantress. She's most well-known for her role in Jason and The Argonauts, she plays a big role in helping Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece.
> 
> After her help, Jason marries Medea. Though he eventually leaves her for another, causing her to resort to violent actions in certain versions.


End file.
